


Classifying Principles

by Ginneke



Series: Tales from the Jedi Temple [1]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Jedi Temple (Star Wars), Multi, Soft Ben Solo, but nobody wants to know the current state of galactic politics DO THEY, canonverse, future reylo, more tags & characters to be added once I know what's going on here, there's backstory in this here fic, we stan Rey Nobody
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23134441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ginneke/pseuds/Ginneke
Summary: Ben Solo is happy to hide away in the Records Room and avoid people. Unfortunately, by virtue of being discrete individuals instead of a convenient monolith, "people" have a habit of showing up anyway.And he has just thoroughly embarrassed himself in front of a girl who is as familiar as his own thoughts, despite the fact that they've never met before in their lives.And Tai thinks he's helping, which means he really isn't.Alternate Title: The Very Serious Questions of Safeguarding Historical Documents and Hiding From Social Interactions
Relationships: Ben Solo & Tai, Rey & Tai, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Tales from the Jedi Temple [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1662886
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	Classifying Principles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BensCalligraphySet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BensCalligraphySet/gifts).



> Hi, hello, I’ve been procrastinating over my library job and my library coursework to write library-centred canonverse AUs
> 
> (Ben Solo is a soft nerd pass it on)

“You’ll have met most people by now,” Tai says while simultaneously casting around in the Force for a hint of Ben’s presence – finding Ben is a multitasking kind of job – and making sure that his charge doesn’t try sneaking off again. “There’s just a few off-world at the moment, and - ” He pauses, checks, shakes his head. “ - ah, should have known. Come on, I’ll introduce you to him.”

Rey of Jakku blinks up at him, dazed and looking desperate to be anywhere else. (She’s… kind of like Ben in that.) Little Rey isn’t like the ex-cadets they’d rescued, or the teens who find their own path to the temple from the core worlds. She’s used to solitude and independently struggling her way through life, and all this is clearly overwhelming her.

“Last person, I promise.” Tai tries for a reassuring smile. She’s not convinced by this. “Hey, I’ll tell you a secret – the place we’re going now? It’s one of the best places to hang out if you don’t want to be around too many people.” Now _that_ gets an attempt at a return grin. “My friend, Ben, he takes care of the place, so it’ll be good to meet him. We’ll wander across, say hello, then go back to the kitchens. Sounds good, yeah?”

Rey pretends to think about it, then nods eagerly. Whether it’s at the promise of a possible quiet haven, or just the thought of food, Tai can’t quite tell; but either way it’s the most enthusiastic she’s looked since they left Master Luke’s quarters earlier that morning.

He picks a longer route, since it goes past the gardens rather than the practice grounds, and the girl almost vibrates with excitement at the sight of growing things. Questions start to burst out of her, and in the easy back and forth of conversation Tai learns about her attempts to grow desert flowers in pots, and how she’d loved hearing about worlds covered in forests. Her eyes go huge with delight when he suggests she could help out with the gardens, if she wanted. If she’d been excited before, she’s quivering fit to burst now.

_She’ll be happy here_ , he thinks, hopes, as he leads her past the gardens to a covered walkway. The Records Room (sometimes known as the library, though Ben insists that _technically_ it’s a kind of library-and-archive hybrid) is a circular domed building that is connected to the main Temple buildings, but might as well be its own little kingdom for how often people approach it.

Ben can be very, very grumpy when disturbed.

In all honesty, Tai is the only person who can invade Ben’s sanctuary and not be glared at for it. He gives the door a hearty shove, and as it swings open he calls out, “So is this ‘already here’ or ‘still here’, Ben?”

A voice filters down from above them: “...What?”

“Right, right,” Tai says, struggling not to laugh, “it’s ‘still here’. Got it.”

“No,” Ben says, but in that uncertain way that’s almost a question instead of a statement. His head appears over the balustrade; he looks exhausted, and his face is all creased up in a frown. He insists, “You were here two hours ago.”

Tai declines to dignify that kind of wilful self-deception with a verbal response, and flips a switch located next to the main entrance door. Ben glances up to the ceiling as the skylight covers split open to let the noon light spill in. He radiates genuine confusion, though his Force signature prickles defensively. “It felt like two.”

“And you promised me you’d be finished within one,” he says as though Ben hadn’t tried to use the feeblest excuse ever. “Anyway. I want you to meet someone. Ben, this is Rey,” he says, gesturing to the girl stood behind him. She seems to have gone uncharacteristically timid and is standing as close to Tai as possible while still maintaining a plausible gap. “I told you about her before, remember?”

Admittedly in a post-mission debrief, but it counts.

It’s like Ben hasn’t even registered there was another person in the room until now. He looks past Tai at last and… oh, no, it’s awkward, hasn’t-slept, hasn’t-had-caf Ben in front of them today, and Tai really hasn’t thought this through, and he hopes that Ben will just do the normal Ben thing when confronted with a stranger: freeze up and say--

“Welcome home,” Ben blurts out.

\--nothing.

“Um,” says Rey, turning crimson.

Ben chooses this moment to do the normal Ben thing. He manages a curt nod, then turns his back on them and pretends to organise the nearest shelves.

“Well,” Tai says diplomatically, “I guess we’ll see you around.” A private follow-up: _Go get some sleep, you social disaster_. Said disaster curls in on himself in reply. Tai gently steers Rey towards the door; she’s still red in the face as it closes behind them and they start to tread a path towards the kitchens.

As first meetings go, that could have gone a lot better.

Knowing Ben, it also could have been worse.

(He still feels the need to apologise, though.)

A hand clutches at his sleeve, tugging him to a sudden halt, and Tai looks over his shoulder in surprise. It’s the first time he’s witnessed the girl act as though she might _want_ to be around people since her arrival at the Temple one standard cycle earlier. “Everything okay?” he asks gently.

“…Was that _Ben Solo_?” Rey furrows her brow like she’s still trying to figure something out. Tai waits for her to finish, half dreading the reason behind the emphasis on the name – Ben deserves so much more than disappointed hero-worship – but then she says, “He’s very shy, isn’t he?”

Tai chuckles, relieved that she hasn’t found his best friend too off-putting. “That’s one way of saying it.”

“Did he _mean_ it?” She sounds a little hopeful, a little lost, a little scared.

Tai smiles. “I’ve known Ben over half my life,” he says, “and in all that time, I’ve never known him to say _anything_ that he doesn’t honestly believe.” Though whether what Ben says makes sense is sometimes a different and difficult question.

None of that matters to Rey, though, and her sudden smile rivals the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> We may or may not actually go into the state of galactic politics, but I'm pretending that we don't want to know that because ben solo sulks when he doesn't get his way and that's fucking funny
> 
> The actual important things:   
> 1) This chapter takes place when Rey is 14, almost 15. Ben is 24. Neither of them has a clue what's going on.
> 
> 2) Tai has so many rights. Tai is my precious bald bean and I love him. 
> 
> 3) Credit for the lin "So is this ‘already here’ or ‘still here’[?]" goes to my darling gf Heleentje, who puts up with so much nonsense.


End file.
